Yahoo! News Canada - Canada Headlines

Rob Ford stripped of emergency powers, threatens legal action
Labour wins important Supreme Court ruling on right to out strike-breakers
Markham daycare death of infant probed
P.E.I. government’s sex-ed guide called creepy
Marijuana grow-op found in special care home for seniors
TSX touches two-year high as Fed hopes lift market
Premiers seek 'explicit alternatives' to federal job grant plan
Mechanically tenderized beef revealed as new E.coli risk
Halifax teen charged with extortion over Facebook photo threats
Smoky fire likely caused 17-vehicle crash on Trans-Canada
Rob Ford unlikely to succeed in suing ex-staffers
Question of Leadership: Politics has become exciting for all the wrong reasons
Winnipeg police admit they paid money to man who eventually confessed to murders
Court martial convicts military medic of sex assault in bogus breast exams
Is it time for the Ontario government to step in and remove Rob Ford?
Recently elected Nunavut politicians choose Peter Taptuna as next premier
Downward whale? Yogis protest beluga captivity with stretches and bends
Safety regulators critical of government response to fatal train derailment
Inquest jury says family should be allowed to force psychiatric probe
Toronto council strips besieged mayor of some powers
Alberta to Canada's Harper: Clarify foreign investment rules
Stranger replaces autistic boy's stolen bike
Willow Park students get crafty to help fire-damaged school

Rob Ford stripped of emergency powers, threatens legal action

Posted: 15 Nov 2013 07:52 AM PST

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford was stripped of some key mayoral powers on Friday and he is already threatening to take the decision to court. City council voted 39-3 in favour of limiting the mayor's ability to hire and fire his … Continue reading →

Labour wins important Supreme Court ruling on right to out strike-breakers

Posted: 15 Nov 2013 01:55 PM PST

The labour movement has been put on the defensive as globalization and economic downturns have steadily eroded their bargaining power, and the advent of a Conservative government with a strong antipathy to unions. Federal data shows the unionization rate has … Continue reading →

Markham daycare death of infant probed

Posted: 15 Nov 2013 12:50 PM PST

York Regional Police and the coroner are investigating the death of a nine-month-old girl at an unlicensed home daycare in Markham, north of Toronto.

P.E.I. government’s sex-ed guide called creepy

Posted: 15 Nov 2013 01:58 PM PST

The Prince Edward Island government — as other governments do — have put out a booklet about children's sexual behaviours. This excerpt from the booklet's introduction explains why. It is normal for children under the age of 12 to behave … Continue reading →

Marijuana grow-op found in special care home for seniors

Posted: 15 Nov 2013 09:18 AM PST

Police in central New Brunswick are investigating a marijuana grow operation discovered at a special care home for seniors by emergency crews responding to a fire.

TSX touches two-year high as Fed hopes lift market

Posted: 15 Nov 2013 01:51 PM PST

By John Tilak TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index rose to its highest in more than two years on Friday after Federal Reserve Vice Chair Janet Yellen, who is widely expected to take over as head of the U.S. central bank, expressed strong support for the Fed's stimulus program. The Toronto stock market's benchmark index advanced for a third straight session and recorded a second consecutive weekly gain. Yellen defended the Fed's plans to stimulate growth and said on Thursday she would implement the central bank's ultra-easy monetary policy until officials are confident the economic recovery is robust and job creation sustainable. "The spotlight is clearly on Janet Yellen," said Adrian Mastracci, portfolio manager at KCM Wealth Management, who expects the Canadian market to benefit in the near term from the continuation of the Fed's accommodative monetary policy.

Premiers seek 'explicit alternatives' to federal job grant plan

Posted: 15 Nov 2013 12:14 PM PST

The premiers have asked their labour ministers to come up with "explicit alternatives" to the federal government's controversial Canada Job Grant plan, said Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne following a meeting with her counterparts in Toronto on Friday.

Mechanically tenderized beef revealed as new E.coli risk

Posted: 15 Nov 2013 12:11 PM PST

We all know by now that you cook hamburgers thoroughly to kill any E. coli bacteria that may be present from the processing of the ground beef. But you could still enjoy a rare steak or a pink prime rib … Continue reading →

Halifax teen charged with extortion over Facebook photo threats

Posted: 15 Nov 2013 11:40 AM PST

A Halifax teen has been charged with extortion after someone using fictitious Facebook accounts demanded a 16-year-old girl send him naked pictures of herself.

Smoky fire likely caused 17-vehicle crash on Trans-Canada

Posted: 15 Nov 2013 02:52 PM PST

A smoky campfire under a bridge on the Trans-Canada highway may have caused a 17-vehicle crash Friday morning in Chilliwack, B.C., a rural community east of Vancouver.

Rob Ford unlikely to succeed in suing ex-staffers

Posted: 15 Nov 2013 04:28 AM PST

In yet another twist in the ongoing saga of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford, the mayor has threatened to sue several former members of his staff over comments they made about him in police interviews. But attorneys say legal precedent suggests such lawsuits are unlikely to be successful.

Question of Leadership: Politics has become exciting for all the wrong reasons

Posted: 15 Nov 2013 06:43 AM PST

In a new, exclusive poll conducted by Leger Marketing for Yahoo Canada in which we asked Canadians how they felt about their elected municipal representatives, is it any wonder honesty and integrity ranked far and above as the most important qualities we seek in leaders?

Winnipeg police admit they paid money to man who eventually confessed to murders

Posted: 15 Nov 2013 02:48 PM PST

WINNIPEG - Winnipeg police admit they took the "extraordinary measure" of paying for information from a man who ended up confessing to killing two aboriginal women — a confession the Crown says wouldn't have held up in court. Supt. Danny Smyth said police were investigating a sex assault in 2012 and brought Shawn Lamb in for questioning. While he was being processed, Smyth said Lamb told police he knew where a body was. After that, Smyth said Lamb clammed up.

Court martial convicts military medic of sex assault in bogus breast exams

Posted: 15 Nov 2013 02:52 PM PST

GATINEAU, Que. - A military judge has delivered a guilty verdict in the sex assault court martial of a former Canadian Forces medic on more than two dozen charges. Retired petty officer James Wilks will now face sentencing on 25 sexual assault and breach of trust charges involving 16 women over six years. In a West Quebec courtroom near Ottawa, military judge Lt.-Col. Louis-Vincent d'Auteuil handed down the verdict after reading a detailed summary of the case that concluded the testimony of the women should be believed.

Is it time for the Ontario government to step in and remove Rob Ford?

Posted: 15 Nov 2013 10:29 AM PST

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne said Thursday that she is willing to help Toronto city council oust Mayor Rob Ford, but only if council formally makes a request and only if all provincial parties agree. The city's councillors have voted in … Continue reading →

Recently elected Nunavut politicians choose Peter Taptuna as next premier

Posted: 15 Nov 2013 03:54 PM PST

IQALUIT, Nunavut - The newly chosen premier of Nunavut is already promising big changes to the territory's education system. Minutes after his fellow members of the legislature chose him to lead the eastern Arctic territory under its consensus form of government, Peter Taptuna said test results in Nunavut have to start meaning something again. The practice of social promotion, in which schoolchildren are moved on whether or not they've mastered their current grade, stops as of Friday, Taptuna said. Taptuna said education will be a major focus of his government.

Downward whale? Yogis protest beluga captivity with stretches and bends

Posted: 15 Nov 2013 10:14 AM PST

There was bending, stretching and relaxed deep breathing happening at the Vancouver aquarium on Thursday — but don't be mistaken — the tension was palpable. The yoga inside the aquarium was taking place in the underwater beluga exhibit, where whales … Continue reading →

Safety regulators critical of government response to fatal train derailment

Posted: 15 Nov 2013 04:41 PM PST

GATINEAU, Que. - Transport Canada is getting a low grade from safety regulators about addressing recommendations from an Ontario passenger train derailment that left three dead. The Transportation Safety Board is accusing the government of a lack of firm action in addressing rail safety issues arising from the February 2012 train derailment in Burlington. In a news release issued on Friday, the TSB says it has called for video cameras to be installed in locomotives and a fail-safe mechanism to stop the train if it misses a signal. TSB chairwoman Wendy Tadros says enacting the recommendations would reduce the risk of another accident like the Burlington disaster.

Inquest jury says family should be allowed to force psychiatric probe

Posted: 15 Nov 2013 04:36 PM PST

VANCOUVER - A coroner's jury looking into the death of 26-year-old Angus Mitchell has released seven recommendations, including that the B.C. Health Ministry consider allowing people to force a mentally ill family member to undergo a psychiatric assessment. David Mitchell told the inquest that his son, who was a straight-A student in Vernon, B.C., began showing signs of mental illness as early as Grade 7. It wasn't all that rare, it was a passing phase and nothing we should worry about," David Mitchell told the jury. Mitchell began dabbling with drugs when he was a teenager, David Mitchell said.

Toronto council strips besieged mayor of some powers

Posted: 15 Nov 2013 10:11 AM PST

Toronto city council voted to strip scandal-plagued Mayor Rob Ford of some of his powers on Friday but Ford, who admits he smoked crack cocaine while in office, promised to challenge the moves in court. With few legal mechanisms available to remove Ford from office, Toronto city councilors across the political spectrum have been searching for ways to curb the power of the populist mayor, who was elected in 2010 on a promise to save taxpayers' money.

Alberta to Canada's Harper: Clarify foreign investment rules

Posted: 15 Nov 2013 03:23 PM PST

By Leah Schnurr TORONTO (Reuters) - The leader of Canada's main oil-producing province issued a rare direct rebuke of Prime Minister Stephen Harper's foreign investment policy on Friday, saying uncertainty over the rules was taking a serious toll on investment by foreigners. Alberta Premier Alison Redford was speaking a week after Harper said it would be "foolish" for the Canadian government to provide absolute clarity on the rules because it needed some discretion in considering takeover bids. After a meeting of provincial premiers, which called for greater clarity on the rules, she told reporters that the rules had changed so often and so unilaterally that they were deterring foreign investors. "It's too easy to say there needs to be a little bit of uncertainty.